1. Field of the Invention
Present invention relates to foldable hoist assemblies for vehicles such as pickup trucks.
2. Prior Art
Smaller trucks, particularly vans and pickup trucks are widely used for a variety of business and recreational purposes. Often such vehicles are used for hauling heavy materials and equipment that require a hoist for loading and unloading. Unless one is available at the site, the driver must carry his own hoist that takes up valuable load capacity or interferes with other use of the vehicle. For example, the adjustable hoist shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,019,918 issued to H. M. Keener on Feb. 6, 1962 is permanently mounted either on the load bed itself or outside one of the box sidewalls where it must remain even when not in use.
Because of this, efforts have been made to design a portable hoist assembly that can be stored away or disassembled when not in use.
Ideally such portable hoist assemblies should be quickly and easily deployable when needed, yet not interfere with the load capacity or other normal functions of the vehicle. None of the portable hoist designs presently available provide such advantages. Foldable hoist assemblies, such as those shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,794,192 issued to Charles B. Monson on Feb. 26, 1974 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,276,610 to C. R. Thatcher on Oct. 4, 1966, can be folded out of the way to not interfere significantly with the load bed capacity, but cover up the stake pockets that many pickup trucks provide for adding side boards to the box, and would have to removed entirely to permit installation of a camper shell for recreational use. In addition, such mechanisms could not be installed on van type vehicles, and in all of them the load forces must be borne by the relatively light sheet metal of the box.
Removable hoist structures, such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,918,592 issued to Jim N. Paul on Nov. 11, 1975, must be carried disassembled either in the truck box where available load space is taken up, or on a bulky rack attached to the truck. The removable hoist disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,899,089 to N. J. Wardlaw issued Aug. 12, 1975, presents other problems in that the load can only be loaded by lifting over the sidewalls, instead of through the tailgate, and if not removed, still takes up some load bed space and is not suitable for van type vehicles or for installation of camper shells.